Your schedule lives in Jobber. So does one answer to this.
You're on a mower or a roof when the phone goes, and by the time you look, the caller is gone. Jobber already sells a fix for that, inside the tool that holds your quotes, jobs, and invoices. For many Jobber users it is the right fix, and this page says when.
Below: what Jobber's receptionist does according to its own help center and pricing page, as of October 2026. Then how a text-back agent differs, whether the two can share a phone line, and how to pick.
It picks up the call, books the job, and texts the hang-ups.
From Jobber's Receptionist help article, read in October 2026:
- Answers calls and texts around the clock
- Creates requests and books jobs into your Jobber calendar
- Can text a follow-up to a caller who hangs up early
- Transfers urgent or sensitive calls to the team member you name, when the caller uses words you've set as triggers
- Runs on a Jobber phone number, available in the US, Canada, and the UK, and the business number you already advertise forwards its calls to it
- Can let the line ring about ten seconds first
The pricing page lists it as a $29 monthly add-on to plans that start at $49 (Core), $139 (Connect), $199 (Grow), and $499 (Plus) a month. The help article fills in the rest: the $29 covers 30 conversations, each one past that is $0.79, you can pause it at the limit instead of paying overage, and Plus includes it with unlimited use. A call counts only when the receptionist actually talks with someone; spam doesn't count.
| Conversations a month | Jobber add-on | This agent, top of usual usage |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | $29.00 | $289 |
| 60 | $52.70 | $289 |
| 120 | $100.10 | $289 |
Worked out from Jobber's published rates: $29, plus $0.79 for each conversation past 30. Even at 120 a month, the add-on is well under half of what this agent costs.
A voice on the line, or a written reply after it rings out.
Jobber's receptionist answers. This agent never talks to the caller live. Unanswered calls forward to a toll-free number I set up, which rings your cell for 15 seconds; if nobody picks up, the caller hears a short apology and can leave a voicemail, which is recorded and transcribed. Then a text arrives from that number that answers the voicemail, or asks what they need if they left none. A landline caller gets no text, though a message they leave comes to you, and anyone ringing after 8 pm is texted at 8 am. Those 15 seconds are fixed, and Twilio treats your voicemail answering as a pickup; if your cell's greeting starts before then, nothing is sent, which is why setup ends with a test call.
Before anything sends, a second model compares the draft with the prices, hours, and links in your intake, and four rules run in code: it only replies to someone who called, STOP ends it for good, nothing goes out before 8 am or after 8 pm, and offer wording like "% off" or "limited time" is blocked. Jobber leaves AI disclosure to you: its article encourages telling callers they're talking to AI but says it isn't required. Here the first text always says it's automated, because a separate check holds back any first text that doesn't say so.
The trade-off runs the other way inside Jobber. This agent writes nothing there. No request is created and nothing lands on the calendar; it can't see your openings at all. What it does is put your Jobber request or booking link in the text, so the caller fills in the form and the request arrives in Jobber the way web requests already do. The call log goes to HubSpot or any tool that takes a webhook, and alerts reach you in Slack.
What a Hollowmere caller would get
A fictional lawn company and a caller who rang out. No message is taken, so this first text is all they have until they reply. The link stands in for the company's Jobber request form.
Rang out, apology played
218 characters, under the 300 limit
The two options, row by row.
Jobber's column is as of October 2026, from its pricing page and help center.
| Jobber Receptionist | Missed-Call Text Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Switch it on in Jobber; forward your line | No setup fee. I do the work; carrier verification takes about three business days, and you read rehearsal drafts before anything goes live |
| Monthly cost | $29 covers 30 conversations, $0.79 per extra one; Plus ($499) includes it | $249, plus usage typically $20–40 |
| Contract | Jobber's monthly plans cancel any time | Monthly; 30 days' notice ends it, no reason needed; no trial period |
| Who holds the number | Jobber's dedicated number | A toll-free number provided to you; it ports out if you leave |
| Canned or reviewed | Live AI on the call and in texts | Drafted for each call and each reply, then compared with what you configured by a second model |
| Human handoff | Transfers the live call to your escalation contact | Texts the caller that someone will get back to them; a Slack alert tells you to call |
| Hours | Around the clock | Texts 8 am–8 pm local only; a later call is texted at 8 am, and any voicemail reaches you at once |
| Inside Jobber | Creates requests and books into the calendar | Writes nothing there; links your request form |
| Support | Jobber, as part of your account | Me, directly |
Only one of them can catch the unanswered call.
Both hang off the same moment. Jobber wants your calls forwarded to its number so the receptionist can pick up. This agent wants your unanswered calls forwarded to the toll-free line I provide. A phone line sends its no-answer calls to one place, so on any single number you choose one.
You could split them across two numbers, say the receptionist on the number in your Google listing and the text back behind the one painted on the truck. I wouldn't sell you that setup. Two systems answering for one business means two places to check and two sets of rules to keep straight. Pick the one that fits how your callers behave.
For most Jobber users, the add-on comes first. Try it before you call me.
Jobber's receptionist, if…
- Your callers expect a voice, not a text
- Calls at 9 pm or 6 am matter to you
- You want requests created in Jobber without a form
- You're on Plus, where it's already included
- About 30 conversations covers your month
This agent, if…
- You don't want an AI voice talking to your customers
- Your callers ask questions you want answered in writing
- You want each text checked against your prices first
- You want the text-back number to port out with you if you ever leave
- Your records already live in HubSpot
The plain reason not to buy this: if the $29 add-on does the job, you'd be paying $249 a month for a quieter version of something you can already switch on. Run Jobber's for a month. If callers hang up on the voice, or it answers questions you'd rather it didn't, that is the moment to look at a text back.
When it is, the missed-call text back page covers the setup from start to finish, and pricing has the full bill. If you're weighing other AI receptionists too, see text back vs. an AI receptionist. Contractors on Jobber can also read the contractor page.
